Forty-Five

49.8K 1.9K 1.2K
                                    

Previously - 

Harry stared off and looked at the different faces of the guests; his guests. He couldn't help but wish that Ava was here with him. He couldn't help but imagine her in that little floral dress that he loved so much and her brown hair down and in natural waves. He could almost hear her laughter. 

Harry snapped out of his thoughts suddenly. That laugh. It was not in his imagination. It was happening in now and here. He looked around the room frantically trying to pin point where that familiar laugh was coming from. 

Standing on the side of the room, in that damn floral dress with an arm holding her close, was her. She was here, laughing, with a man holding her close. What the actual fuck is that douche receptionist doing with Ave, Harry thought to himself as an inappropriate sense of jealousy and anger began to creep up into him. Before he could think twice, he put his glass down. He ignored Libby’s questionings on where he was going and made his way over to Ava; his Ava. 

His mind was going a mile a minute. The jealousy that was coursing through his veins caused his fists to clench and unclench. His eyes were zoned in on her and the arm holding her close that did not belong to him. Libby called his name from the patio but he ignored her. It wasn't until a firm grasp on his arm he was able to break from his intense glare. 

"Harry!" Adam pulled him off to the side. He had a glass filled with some dark liquid which gave him an air of sophistication. "I was just looking for you."

Harry tore his gaze away from Ava and looked at his publisher. "What is it?" He calmly asked. 

"I have someone that I wanted to introduce you to. Remember when you first came by the office you looked at that book by Flint Hastings?" Harry nodded in response. It still bothered him that he had the same last name as Ava. It was just another reminder of his past and of who he lost. Regardless of the fact that she was only five feet away from him. "Great. Well, he is here. I wanted to introduce you to him." Harry took one last glance over at Ava. She was laughing at something a petite brunette said. He mentally shook it off and followed Adam. 

-

Over the past month, Ava and Mack had gotten closer as friends. The more that she spent time with Mack, the more she saw him as a friend only. He was a great guy. He was compassionate, funny, and had an ability to make her feel special. It was clear that he had feelings for her that were beyond friendship, but she couldn't muster up the same reciprocated feelings. However, when he had asked her to join him as a date to a "launch party at work", she said sure.

It helped that Jax would be there too covering the launch for the paper. Stevie had weaseled her way there as well, claiming that it was unfair that both of them were going and she wasn't. She had some how managed to convince Rob to let her tag along and shadow Jax claiming that it would be a great opportunity for her to learn and have a hands on experience. Evidently, he had agreed and that had led the three of them (plus Mack) standing with drinks in hand laughing at some awful joke that Jax had said. Ava was still unsure of who's launch party it was, given that there were no real clues inside the venue (and she hadn't made her way outside yet), but she was happy to be with out with her friends on a Friday night. 

"God, this party is lame." Stevie took a long sip from the long island ice tea that she grasped tightly between her neon pink fingernails. "What is this for again?" 

"A book launch. Some up and coming novelist from out of town." Jax explained. Thoughts began to swirl inside of Ava's mind. Could this be for Harry? She thought. That would make sense. But she quickly brushed those thoughts off concluding that it would be too coincidental if it was. 

Winter Air [H.S.]Where stories live. Discover now